Barcelona bans street prostitution starting this weekend, fining both clients and prostitutes

Barcelona (ACN).- From this Friday 17^th August, street prostitution will be totally banned in Barcelona. Nobody will be allowed to offer, negotiate or hire sexual services on the street, nor maintain paid sexual relations, otherwise they will be fined. The City Council’s ban will persecute both prostitutes and clients; although the later will have to pay significantly higher fines. Clients might be fined between €1,000 and €3,000, depending on the case. The lowest fines would be for people asking for sexual services and the highest for people involved in paid sexual encounters taking place near a school. Prostitutes will receive a significantly lower fine, ranging between €100 and €750, depending on the situation. However, prostitutes might not have to pay the fine if they attend a labour integration course. During the remaining weeks of August, police will not issue fines and will only warn prostitutes and clients. However, in September, fines will start. Barcelona City Council modified the regulations restricting street prostitution, adopted in 2006. Last July, the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU), which runs the city government, approved with the votes of the People’s Party (PP) the regulations’ modification, which entered into force this Friday. All the Left-wing parties (PSC, ICV-EUiA, ERC, and C’s) opposed the measure, considering it to condemn prostitutes to further marginalisation.

Despite the fact that offering or asking for paid sexual services on the streets of Barcelona has been forbidden since 2006, this Friday the regulation becomes tougher and fines are foreseen. The measure aims to eradicate prostitution from the streets of Barcelona, foreseeing much higher fines for clients than for prostitutes.

Clients asking for, negotiating, or conducting in support of street prostitution will receive a fine between €1,000 and €1,200. However, if they do so in a place that is located less than 200 metres away from a school, the fine will be between €1,200 and €1,500. Furthermore, if the clients are caught by the police in a paid sexual encounter on the street, the fine will range from €1,500 to €3,000, if it has taken place near a school. The fines for prostitutes will range between €100 and €300 for being on the street offering, negotiating or accepting remunerated sex. Furthermore, if they are caught on the street having paid sex, the fine will be between €300 and €750, if it takes place near a school.

However, prostitutes might be able to exchange the fine for fulfilling alternative obligations, such as attending labour-related courses, fostering their social integration. Therefore, the City Council’s Agency for the Integral Care of Sexual Work (ABITS) is informing prostitutes about their programmes and services focused to provide an alternative way of living. The City Council has emphasised its aim to protect the people offering sexual services, as they are “the weakest and most vulnerable”. The ABITS has been informing prostitutes for the last weeks about the regulation changes and the programmes in place to assist them. At the same time, the City Council of the Catalan capital has insisted it will continue fighting sexual exploitation and human trafficking networks, through the cooperation of the different police structures and public bodies involved. Maite Fandos, Barcelona’s Deputy Mayor for Social Affairs, explained that the measure aims “to prevent prostitution networks coming to the city” and “not fining the women”. According to Fandos, the measure aims “to provide support to the prostitutes and target the clients”.